


Christmas Decorating with Trixie

by Antarctic_Echoes



Series: Luciferian Fics (One shots) [46]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Deckerstar - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 19:46:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13130802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antarctic_Echoes/pseuds/Antarctic_Echoes
Summary: Lucifer agrees to babysit for Chloe while she finishes her Christmas shopping.  He discovers that Trixie is a very demanding taskmaster when it comes to decorating the Christmas tree.One shot.Takes place sometime in the season 3 future after Chloe discovers who Lucifer is, but before  they are in an established relationship.  In the same AU as Sleeping in Heavenly Comfort.  Trixie also knows that Lucifer is the Devil.





	Christmas Decorating with Trixie

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Navaros](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Navaros/gifts).



> This is for my wonderful friend, Navaros, who is so incredible supportive and kind and wonderful and awesome and and and...! I couldn’t have made it through this year without you. You truly are my sunshine!! And here is your little star. Thank you and Merry Christmas! <3 <3 <3
> 
> This has not been beta-ed, so I apologize for all mistakes.
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: Lucifer Morningstar, Chloe Decker, and Trixie Decker are owned by Vertigo Comics, DC Comics, Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey, and everyone else involved with the Lucifer TV show and comic books. I own nothing and make no money on this. I merely am borrowing the characters for... uh... writing practice.

 

 

 

 

Lucifer should have said no.

He _knew_ he should have said no.  Since when had saying yes to anything ever resulted in anything good?  Well, he often said yes when granting someone a favor, but this was different.  When Chloe had looked at him with those big, beseeching aqua eyes of hers, he knew he was in trouble.  He was putty in her hands. He would do anything for her -- and, Dad help him, she knew it.

“Please, Lucifer?  Maze is on a hunt, Dan’s out with Charlotte, and there’s no one else.  I really need to finish my Christmas shopping, so please...?”

“But... but I don’t know anything about Christmas -- I don’t even like my half-brother!” he cried.  “After all, why should he get all the attention when I’ve been around eons longer than him?  Why does he get all these celebrations revolving around him when all I get is hate and revulsion --”

“I know it’s hard for you, but I promise I won’t be long -- just long enough for you to decorate the tree with Trixie.”  She gave him a pleading look.  “I really need your help and Trixie will be so disappointed if the tree isn’t decorated in time for Christmas....”

Soft -- he was soft.  When had he become so soft?!

Closing his eyes, he rubbed his forehead.  “Bloody hell....”

“Does this mean you’ll do it?”  Her voice sounded excited, relieved, and happy all at once.

“Against my better judgment, but yes.”  He glared as he wagged his finger at her.  “But mind you -- you owe me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Oh?” He perked up at that, a sultry grin lighting up his expression.

She chuckled.  “Uh-uh, not that kind of ‘worth your while,’ Lucifer.  We’re not going there.”

The sultry grin slid right off of his face.

“But it will be something special, I promise.”  She beamed at him.  “You won’t regret it.”

He was regretting it already.  What had come over him to make him agree to spawn-sit?  Goodness, her child scared him half to death with her ambush hugs!  How was he going to survive an evening with the little girl?  And yet, he just couldn’t bring himself to say no to Chloe.  She was his heart, even though nothing could ever come of it.  How he wished....

Ah, but if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

He arrived at apartment at seven o’clock, only to press himself against the wall as Chloe dashed past him out the front door.  “Trixie’s already eaten dinner, and the box of decorations is out.  Thank you so much, Lucifer!”

And with that, she was gone.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, the fallen angel walked inside and closed the door behind him.  Trixie’s face lit up when she caught sight of him, and she launched herself at him with a loud, “Lucifer!”

Yelping, he tried to scramble out of the way, but he was too late.  The little girl wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big hug.  Holding his arms up to avoid touching her, he looked left and right, hoping that someone -- anyone -- would come and save him from her.  But no one came.

“Ah -- right, child.”  He tried to pry her little arms from around his waist, but she was stronger than a demon and clung like an octopus.  “I believe your mum said you had a tree to decorate?”

She looked up at him with a grin.  “Yup!”

When she still didn’t let go of him, he frowned.  “Well, we best get to it, then, don’t you agree?”

Trixie nodded, her arms easing from his waist.  Lucifer let out his pent-up breath, thinking he was free, only to flinch when she took a hold of his hand.  Before he had a chance to shake her off, the little girl dragged him to the majestic ten foot noble fir tree in the living room.  Beside the tree sat a large box filled to the brim with smaller containers and things that Lucifer didn’t recognize.  She ran to the box and grinned at him.

“First, we have to put on the lights,” Trixie said as she pulled out something out of a nightmare.  In her hands was what resembled a giant knotted ball of sea kelp, complete with what looked like little float nodules made of glass.  Lucifer stared at it in horror.

“What in Dad’s name is _that?!”_

Trixie smiled.  “Christmas lights!  Mommy always untangles them, but since she’s not here....”  She shoved the muddled mess of dark green wires and tiny lightbulbs into his hands.  “You get to do it!”

The fallen angel gaped at her, then stared at the lights in his hands.  “You can’t possibly expect me to --”

“It’s a grown-up job,” she said with a bob of her head, then skipped to the corner to studiously ignore him and play with her dolls.

Why did he get the feeling that the little scamp was taking advantage of him?  He debated telling the little urchin that the tree didn’t need lights, but then he imagined Chloe’s disappointment at having a subpar tree.  No, he couldn’t disappoint his partner -- she was depending on him to do things right.  Heaving a heavy sigh, he sat down on the couch and began the nasty work of untangling the lights.

It was torture.

Whoever had created the monstrosity known as “Christmas lights” must have been some sort of demon from Hell, for who else could create such a fiendish, nightmarish device that tangled itself as soon as one freed it from its confines? When he got one strand free, it somehow worked itself back into the massive ball to rejoin its friends and laugh at him.  Lucifer swore that if he ever found himself in Hell again, he’d track down the inventor and congratulate him on a stupendous torture device -- then promptly feed him to the Hellhounds.

“Agdujgukjxsyf dwdfsxcrevg,” he muttered at one point.

Trixie looked at him, her face screwed up in confusion as she squinted at him.  “Huh?”

The fallen angel shot a glance at her before he returned to his task of trying to pull a particularly ornery knot out of the wires.  “Oh, your mum has forbidden me to swear around you -- well, she said no explicit cursing, so I make do with what I can.”

She giggled.  “You’re silly!”

Lucifer rolled his eyes.  “Apparently,” he muttered to himself.

After what felt like an eternity, the fallen angel sat back and grinned proudly at his handiwork.  The lights had finally been untangled and were now stretched out into three long separate lines.  Almost immediately, Trixie dashed up to him and nodded.

“Mommy checks all the bulbs to make sure none of them are loose.”

Lucifer’s mouth fell open.  “But... but there must be hundreds of bulbs here --”

“If even one bulb isn’t in right, the whole strand won’t light.”  With that, she returned to her corner and played with her back to him.

The fallen angel stared after her, wondering if she was joking.  Was the little girl serious?

Almost as if she had eyes in the back of her head, she hollered over her shoulder, “Come on, Lucifer, hurry up!”

After muttering under his breath about all the ways he would torture the Christmas light inventor, he took a deep breath and started checking every single bloody bulb.  It took a while with plenty of non-explicit cursing, but he worked his way down the three strands.

When he had finally finished, the little girl returned to his side and smiled.  “Now we attach them together and put them on the tree!”

Lucifer watched, mouth agape, as Trixie plugged the lights together and coiled the strands like an expert, careful not to tangle the lines.  “Bloody hell, why didn’t you put them away like that?”

The little girl’s eyes twinkled.  “It’s more fun to smash them into a ball. Besides, you grown-ups would get bored if you didn’t have the lights to work on.”

“Why, you sly fox -- you think like a demon.”  A grin spread itself across the fallen angel’s face.  “Lucifer likes!”

She grinned back as she handed him the coil.  “Here.”

He glanced down at the lights.  “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Put it on the tree!”

He sighed.  “Very well.”

Lucifer walked over to the tree and started placing the lights carefully on the bottom branches.

Trixie slammed her hand over her eyes.  “No, no, no!  You have to start from the top!”

He blinked.  “And how do you suggest I get up there, child?”

Her face brightened as she linked her hands together and held them at her chest.  If Lucifer didn’t know better, he would have thought she was actually humming with excitement.  “Fly!”

“Fly?!”  The fallen angel’s mouth fell open.  “My wings are far too large for such a tight space -- I’d end up hitting the ceiling or wall, or worse yet, knocking the bloody tree over!”

“But can’t you just hover like a hummingbird?”  The little girl looked at him with big puppy dog eyes.  “We need lights.”

“Do you not understand the mechanics of hovering?  If I’m to hover without a headwind, then I must extend my wings fully through a whole symmetrical figure eight stroke, beating them fifty times a second.  Do you realize the wind turbulence my wings would produce at that rate?  Why, the tree would be destroyed, not to mention the entire apartment!”

She thrust out her lower lip as she pouted.  “But we _need_ lights!”

Rubbing his forehead, Lucifer wondered how he had gotten into this mess.  “Right. I’ll find a step stool.”

Hunting around the apartment yielded neither ladder nor step stool, so he grabbed a sturdy chair instead.  Putting up the lights didn’t seem so bad once he used that.  His arms were long, so he had good reach with which to place the light strands.  Working his way around the tree, he finally draped all the wires in the branches, then plugged in the lights.  The tiny bulbs twinkled like multi-colored stars on the tree.  When Trixie clapped and cheered, Lucifer felt warmth spread through his chest.  He wasn’t sure why, but it certainly felt good.

“What’s next, child?”

“Tinsel!”

Dashing back to the large box, she reached in and pulled out a couple of long, thin packages.  She handed one to him.  “Here, put this on the branches!”

The fallen angel opened the packaging and pulled out a cardboard card around which the tinsel was wrapped.  In his eyes, the long, silvery strands looked like hair.  Lifting an eyebrow, he cast a doubtful glance at the little girl.  “We are putting silver lame fringe on the tree...?”

Trixie giggled.  “No, silly!  They’re supposed to be icicles!”

“Oh.”  Lucifer carefully pulled out one long shimmering hair-like piece of tinsel and placed it on a branch, then cocked his head as he examined it.  “I suppose it does resemble those cold pointy things... somewhat.”

Plucking another single strand of tinsel from the card, he placed it just so on the tree.  Stepping back, he studied his handiwork like an artist surveying his canvas, and smiled.  Nodding to himself, he pulled out another strand of tinsel and rested it on a tree branch before Trixie let out a huge sigh.

“Not like that!  We won’t get done until next year if you do it like that!”  Marching over, she grabbed a handful of tinsel from his package and threw it on the tree.

The fallen angel let out a horrified cry as the little girl then grabbed tinsel from her package in big handfuls and began throwing it in a haphazard manner at the tree.  In seconds, it looked like someone had vomited silver strands all over the branches.  As he stood there making little choking noises, Trixie snatched his package of tinsel out of his hands and proceeded to throw the rest of it onto the tree.

“There!”  She thrust out her chest and grinned.  “That’s better.”

Was it?  Lucifer had serious doubts, but held his tongue. It was obvious that the little girl was proud of her work, and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings.  “What next, child?”

“The ornaments!”  She ran back to the box and pulled out an armful of containers.  She shoved them at him, while taking a few for herself.  “Here!”

Lucifer glanced down at the container in his hands.  They were filled with glass ball ornaments of different colors and sizes.  Some had pretty patterns drawn on them in glitter, while others were just a solid color.  Not sure what to do with them, he watched as Trixie pulled out a ball from her box and hung it on a tree branch.  Following suit, he quickly started hanging his decorations in one area.

“No, no, Lucifer -- you have to spread them around! And make sure the same color balls are not hanging next to each other.”

With a sigh, Lucifer began moving around the tree, rearranging his decorations until he got a thumbs up from Trixie.  Then he and the little girl hung the rest of the ornaments.  By the time he had finished hanging the last ball in his container, Trixie had taken a seat on the couch.  She examined the tree with a critical eye before finally nodding her approval.

Lucifer released the breath he had been holding and his shoulders sagged.  Perhaps now they were finished with the tree...?  He certainly hoped so.  It was exhausting, working with the spawn on a tree for his half-brother!  While Trixie dashed over to the decorations box, the fallen angel slowly lowered himself onto the couch with a sigh.  He had never realized what bliss sitting was.

“I forgot!  We need to put on the tree topper!”  Smiling, the little girl dug through the empty containers and finally pulled a long box out.  But when she removed the lid, her face fell and big tears filled her eyes.

Bloody hell, not the leaky eye thing that humans did!  Panic filled Lucifer as he sat up straight.  What to do, what to do....?  “What’s wrong, child?”

Dragging her feet, she walked up to his side and held the box out to him.  “The tree topper... it’s broken.”

He looked into the box and saw that, sure enough, the spindly glass ornament that was meant to go on the top of the tree had broken in half.

“It’s ruined,” Trixie cried as her lower lip trembled, and she wiped her tears with the back of her hand.  “It’s all ruined.”

The tears rolled down her face.  Lucifer’s heart stuttered, then beat madly in his chest as the blood rushed from his face.  Goodness, what was he supposed to do?  How did he fix this?  “Surely we can buy another one --”

“It won’t be the same.”  More tears fell as her voice grew wobbly.  “And the tree isn’t a Christmas tree without a topper.”

Right.  He had to fix this.  He couldn’t bear to have the little one crying, and what would Chloe think if she came home to find her child bawling?  She’d be so angry with him, and then where would he be?

Taking a deep breath, he bit his lower lip and tried to catch Trixie’s eye.  “Right.  Look, child, I have something better than a tree topper.”

Her gaze lifted.  “You do?”

Was that hope in her voice?  Mayhap she’d stop crying now?  He certainly hoped so.  “Oh, yes.”

Reaching deep inside him, he syphoned off a tiny sliver of his lightbringer energy and pulled it forth into his hand.  The tiny spark popped and sizzled on his palm as it acclimated to its new environment.  Once it stopped spitting angrily and started dancing a little jig, he held it out to show the little girl.

“Ooooh, what is it?”  Tears forgotten, Trixie’s eyes grew round as she stared at the twinkling light.

Relieved that she had stopped crying, he smiled at her.  “Right.  It’s a star.  Well, a baby star, you might say.  It needs a big ball of gas to become a real star.”

“It’s so cool!”  She reached for it, then stopped just shy of touching it.  “Is it hot?”

“As hot as your sun when it wants to be, but that’s usually after it’s an adult.”

Trixie turned hopeful eyes to the fallen angel.  “Can I hold it?”

Lucifer smiled.  “I don’t see why not.  Give me a moment.”   Lifting it up to eye level, he tried to get the little star’s attention, but it ignored him and continued dancing happily.   Rolling his eyes, the fallen angel finally poked it.  It froze and looked at him in annoyance.  “I want you to rein in your heat.  Can you do that?”

Immediately the temperature radiating from the spark went from scorching to lukewarm.

“Splendid!”  With a smile, Lucifer held out the little star to Trixie, who cupped her two hands together.  Lucifer prodded the spark from behind until it hopped into her hands.  Her mouth forming a big “O”, the little girl gazed at the dancing light before turning excited eyes to the fallen angel.

“It’s so light!”

“It _is_ light, child.”

She giggled.  “I mean it doesn’t weigh anything, silly!”

“Well, it’s also a star so it can become extremely dense and heavy when it wants, but it’s in quite a good mood right now.”

He frowned, for she wasn’t listening to him.  As he watched the little girl stare at the star, an odd sensation spread through his body.  Blinking in puzzlement, he rubbed at his chest.  What was this strange feeling?  His insides near the vicinity of his heart felt... warm.  Fuzzy.  How odd.  Of course it couldn’t be because he liked seeing the little spawn happy -- no, that couldn’t have been it at all.  He must have a touch of indigestion.

Trixie stretched out her finger and stroked the dancing light on its head.  When it rubbed up against her like a contented cat, she let out a squeal of delight.  The little girl’s mouth spread into a wide grin and her face grew bright.  She looked up at the fallen angel.  “Can I keep him?  Please let me keep him!”

Well, this was unexpected -- Lucifer had never thought she’d want to keep the little star!  “Ah, yes.  Right.  It can’t survive without a giant ball of gas or my energy....”  At her crestfallen expression, a sharp pain stabbed Lucifer in the heart.  Was she going to cry again?  Goodness, he couldn’t have that!  He scrambled to think up of a solution.  “But maybe we find an alternate source of food for it.”

“Thank you, Lucifer!  I love him!”  Trixie lifted sparkling eyes to him.  “I’m going to name him Sparky.”  Her mouth turned down at one end as she glanced at the tree.  “But we still need a tree topper....”  Her face suddenly brightened.  “I know!  Can we put Sparky up there?  At least until Christmas? It’s only a few days away....  And then I’ll keep him in my room.  Can we, Lucifer?  Can we?”

“Well, I... ah... I’m not sure what your mum would say --”

“She’d say it was okay! And imagine how happy she’d be to see a _real star_ on our tree!  Please, Lucifer?  We gotta have Sparky on our tree, we just gotta!”

Oh goodness, the little spawn was gazing at him with the dreaded puppy dog eyes.  Biting his lower lip, the fallen angel tried to resist.  He knew what his partner would say -- she’d definitely tell the child no.  She’d probably think the little star was a fire hazard.

But as he studied Trixie’s hopeful eyes, he straightened.  He _was_ the Devil -- if he couldn’t give the child what she desired so close to his half-brother’s bloody birthday, then what good was he?

“Very well, child --”  Before he could get any more words out, the little girl burst into cheers, dancing around the room with the star still cupped in her hands.

A smile tugged on Lucifer’s mouth.  He didn’t like children, but the little spawn’s joy was so heartfelt that he couldn’t help but feel pleased.  The warm feeling of indigestion grew stronger, filling him with a strange glow that felt very... good.

Trixie finally dashed up to the fallen angel and gave him a one-armed hug, causing him to yelp.  “Thank you, Lucifer!  I love him!”

He quickly extracted himself from her embrace.  “Yes. well, now we have to find him some... food.”  He thought a moment.  What would serve well as food for a star?  It had to be flammable.  Well, _everything_ was flammable, but it had to be something safe that could be put into some sort of dish for the little star.  Snapping his fingers, his mouth broadened into a grin.  “I’ll be back, child.”

Hurrying to the kitchen, Lucifer opened the high cabinet where Chloe kept her alcohol.  He frowned at the cheap selection he found there.  The next time he came, he would dump all of her stock down the drain and replace it with top of the line alcohol, for his partner deserved only the best!  Reaching up, he grabbed the bottle of Jack Daniels Tennessee Rye -- the strongest alcohol she had --  and poured the liquor into a shot glass.  Carrying the drink into the living room, he set the glass onto the coffee table.  As he took a seat on the couch, he beckoned the little girl over.

“Pop the little one in there, child.”  He pointed at the shot glass.  “Let’s see if this works as a food source.”

Trixie complied, tipping her hand and letting the spark fall into the liquid. As it hit the alcohol, it spat and sizzled, before settling down in the liquid, resembling a man sitting in a hot tub with his arms outstretched.  Lucifer smiled triumphantly.

“Right.  That works --”  No sooner had he gotten the words out when the little star climbed out of the glass and started weaving around like a drunk thing.  “Oh dear....”

Trixie leaned close to the little star.  “Sparky doesn’t look too good.”

Indeed, the little star’s light fluctuated from bright to dim as it dragged itself across the coffee table.  Lucifer rubbed the back of his neck.  “Apparently alcohol isn’t the best choice --”

Trixie’s face lit up.  “I know what’ll fix him!”  She quickly dashed off.  When she returned, she held a small sugar dispenser in her hands.  Before the fallen angel could grasp what she intended to do, she dumped sugar into the shot glass, then picked up the drunken star and set him into the sugary liquid.  “Mommy always says that sugar gives me too much energy -- maybe it will help Sparky!”

Lucifer cringed at the sight of sugar in the alcohol -- even if it _was_ cheap whiskey, it was still whiskey.  What a waste!

The little star sat in its alcohol-sugar hot tub for a long minute as the fallen angel watched with Trixie to see if it would return to its normal state.  He exchanged glances with the little girl when the spark stirred in the liquid.

Suddenly the star catapulted out of the shot glass, knocking it over, and started jumping up and down on the table, higher and higher.  Lucifer’s mouth fell open at the sight.  He had never had one of his stars act so erratically before....

The little spark flew onto his shoulder, then leaped onto his head and started jumping up and down on his perfectly coiffed hair.  Trixie giggled while he batted at the pesky star, which then executed a swan dive off his head and bounced toward the tree.

Lucifer’s insides churned as he rose out of his seat and scrambled after the tiny spark.  Goodness, if it decided to set the tree on fire, Chloe would kill him!

Trixie chased after the bouncing star.  “Sparky! Sparky, come back!”

The star didn’t stop -- instead it jumped higher and higher as it moved, until it began ping-ponging off of the walls and ceiling.  As its speed increased, it shot through a lamp, breaking it, then a potted plant.  The fallen angel dove to the floor as the spark nearly hit him in the head.  “Bloody hell!”  He waved frantically at Trixie.  “Take cover, child!”

But she didn’t listen to him.  Standing in the middle of the room, she kept calling to the spark while it ricocheted everywhere.  Lucifer’s heart faltered, then started pounding in his chest at the thought of the little girl getting hit by the crazed star.  He had to get her to safety!

Time suddenly seemed to slow down as he saw it heading straight for her.  Without thinking, he vaulted into action, knocking the little girl to the floor and shielding her with his body as the star shot past them and slammed into a vase, shattering it to pieces.

“Enough of this nonsense.”  Lucifer glanced over his shoulder as he clenched his teeth.  “Right. I’m going to end this.   _Now.”_

Trixie grabbed his sleeve.  “Don’t hurt him!”

He gaped down at her white face.  “That bloody star nearly killed you --”

“He didn’t mean it!”  Her eyes grew big and pleading.  “Please, Lucifer!”

A harsh sigh escaped him and he rolled his eyes.   _Soft._ He really _was_ getting soft.

As he rose to his feet, he tried to follow the star with his eyes, dodging when it nearly hit him several times.  It took longer than it should have, but at last he determined its trajectory.  As it whizzed by him, he threw himself at it and caught the errant light.  He felt it flare briefly with burning heat in his fist before it died down.

Trixie came running up to him, but he waved her away. “Stay back, child.  It might still be dangerous.”  Lucifer slowly opened his hand.  The little star didn’t move.  Frowning, he poked it with his finger.  The star rolled over and curled into a ball.

“Is he dead?”

The fallen angel jumped at Trixie’s voice right at his elbow.  Looking down at her, he gave her his best frown.  “Didn’t I tell you to stay back?”

“Uh-huh.  But Sparky needs me.”

Heaving a big sigh, he rubbed his forehead, then showed the little girl the star.  “I think he’s suffering from a sugar crash.”

The little girl nodded sagely.  “I get those when I eat too much sugar.”  She stared down at the flickering light in his hand.  “Will Sparky be okay?”

“I’m sure everything will be fine when this little troublemaker wakes up. We’ll let him sleep it off.”  Lucifer looked around with a smile.  “Goodness, the little monster certainly made a mess.  We best clean this up before your mum comes home.”

Trixie gazed up at him.  “And Sparky?  We need him on our tree....”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.  “I’ll think of something else as a food source.”  A smile touched his face.  “Definitely not alcohol or sugar.  Now let’s see what we can do about this mess, shall we?”

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

They hadn’t gotten very far in cleaning the living room when Chloe came home, her arms laden with shopping bags.  When she took in all the damage all over the room, her mouth fell open and she dropped her packages.  She rushed over to Lucifer and Trixie, panic on her face.

“What happened?  Did someone break in?  Are you okay?”  She bent down and checked her daughter for injuries.

“I’m okay, Mommy!  Lucifer and I had fun tonight.  Didn’t we?”  Reaching over, the little girl grabbed the fallen angel’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

The gesture caught him off-guard.  It felt... good, and sent warmth winging through his insides.  Then he remembered that he didn’t like children and half-heartedly attempted to shake her off, but she had already released his hand.  Odd, how he missed the feel of her little hand in his... but it was probably still that pesky indigestion.

“We decorated the tree.”  He waved at the noble fir with its lights twinkling merrily.  “What do you think of our handiwork?”

Chloe straightened and studied the Christmas tree, then smiled at both of them.  “It’s very pretty.”

Lucifer’s cheeks grew warm and he thrust out his chest.  “I put on the lights.”

“And you did a very good job, only....”

His heart sunk at his partner’s comment.  Only...?  “Yes?”

She squinted at the very top branch.  “Is... is that a lit candle in a glass jar strapped to the top of the tree?”

“Our tree topper broke,” Trixie said sadly, before she brightened.  “But it’s okay -- Lucifer found a good substitute!”

Chloe’s expression grew worried as she looked at her daughter, then her partner.  “I don’t think a candle in the tree is a good idea.  It could catch fire --”

Lucifer raised his hands in front of him.  “Rest assured, Detective.  That’s one candle that will not set your tree on fire -- well, as long as you don’t give it alcohol and sugar.  That didn’t work very well when we tried it.”

Her brows furrowed.  “What?”  Turning, she took a closer look at the candle.  “Is... is that flame half-bent over the rim of the glass?”

“He’s hung over,” Lucifer said at the same time Trixie said, “That’s Sparky!  Isn’t he cool?”  The little girl rocked back and forth on her heels.

Chloe frowned.  “Uhhh....”

“He’s domesticated,” Lucifer said.  “As long as you just feed him paraffin or beeswax -- anything flammable, really, that doesn’t have sugar or alcohol in it -- he’ll be fine.  Ideally a gigantic ball of gas would be best, but that bloody brother of mine hasn’t formed any hot air lately, even though that’s all he’s comprised of -- ”

Chloe lifted a hand, instantly silencing him, then rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache.  “And what, exactly, is he?”

“A star!” chimed in Trixie.

“A... star?”

The little girl nodded.  ‘Yeah, you know, like the sun!  And Sparky can get as hot as the sun too, when he’s an adult, but he’s just a baby yet.”

“A baby... star.”  Chloe’s voice was dry.  Lucifer shifted from foot to foot as his stomach churned.  Biting his lower lip, he studiously avoided his partner’s gaze as he concentrated very hard on the ceiling.

“Uh-huh! And Lucifer said I could keep him!"

He winced at the little girl’s words, and didn’t dare look at her mother.

“Oh he did, did he?”  Chloe’s eyes narrowed as she glared at the fallen angel while she continued to speak to her daughter.  “Well, we’ll discuss this in the morning, monkey.  It’s past your bedtime and you need to go to bed....”

Lucifer busied himself with cleaning while his partner tended to her daughter, then moved Chloe’s packages to the coffee table.  His insides trembled at his partner’s wrath.  She could be quite scary when she wanted to be.  Taking a seat on the couch, he took a cigarette from his case and thrust it between his lips, but didn’t light it.  He knew Chloe didn’t like him smoking near her daughter.

In no time at all, she came back out, staring down at him with her hands on her hips.  “Lucifer.”

Glancing up, he saw that her face was... kind of scary?  Not completely scary, but not quite relaxed either.  “Detective.”

With a sigh, she sat down beside him.  “You gave my daughter a star and then you got it drunk?”

Heat rushed into his cheeks as he stuffed the cigarette into his jacket pocket.  “Right.  I had no idea whiskey would affect it in the way it did....”

“And the sugar?”

“To be fair, that was your daughter’s idea.”

He heard her sigh again.  Turning to look at her, he saw her pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Lucifer, that star could be dangerous --”

“But he’s not!  Well, not when he’s sober, at any rate.  And your daughter wants him. She’s quite attached to the little bugger.”  Knowing how much Trixie wanted the little star, he gave Chloe his best impression of puppy dog eyes.

For a long moment she glared at him, before she finally let out an exasperated chuckle.  “You can’t be giving Trixie things like that without asking me --”

“I’m the Devil, my dear, it’s what I do.”  He crossed his arms over his chest and lifted his chin.  “Besides, it’s my bloody brother’s birthday -- I should be allowed to get the little urchin whatever she desires.”

A laugh escaped her.  “Well, it _is_ Christmas, and I can’t argue with that.”  Slinging an arm across his shoulders, Chloe gave him a squeeze.  “Thank you for helping me out today.”  Leaning over, she brushed his cheek with her lips.

Heat rushed into his face, all the way to the tips of his ears.  His gaze fell to the floor, the ceiling, everywhere except her, as he uncrossed his arms.  “Detective....”

“Oh!”  Pulling away, she reached into one of the bags sitting on the coffee table.  She brought out a package and handed it to him.  “Here.”

“What is this?” he asked as he took it from her.  He waggled his eyebrows and gave her a sexy grin. “Is this some exotic sex toy you’d like to try out on me?”

“No!”  Chloe’s face grew bright red as she chuckled.  “I told you we weren’t going there.  No, it’s for helping me tonight.”  She nodded encouragingly. “Go on, open it.”

Warmth burst in his heart, and for a moment he felt lighter than air.  Was he flying?  A quick glance over his shoulder assured him that his wings were still tucked away.  Letting out a relieved sigh, he gave her a shy smile, then peeled off the gift wrapping.  After pulling off the lid of the box, he gasped at the sight of two crystal old-fashioned glasses with the Sigil of Lucifer engraved on them.  With a shaking hand, he lifted one of the glasses out to examine it closely.  The symbol had been beautifully carved, and he knew without a doubt it would look lovely when the glass was filled with Scotch.

“I hope you like it.”  Chloe wrung her hands and laughed nervously.  “I stopped by one of the stores in the mall where they offer free engraving if you buy one of their glass sets.  I’ve been meaning to get something like this for you, but I didn’t know if you’d like it....”  She tried to catch his eye.  “Maybe... it’s not your thing? I mean, if you don’t like it, it’s okay.  I can always use them for something else --”

“I love them.”  He turned toward her and swallowed hard as a kaleidoscope of butterflies took wing inside him.  “They are exquisite.”   _Like you,_ he wanted to say, but he bit the words back and said instead, “Thank you.”

“Thank _you,_ Lucifer.”  Her cheeks grew pink.  “I’m so glad you like them.”  Her eyes grew tender as they traveled over his face before they rested on his lips.  Lucifer’s heart stuttered, then began pounding a mile a minute.  Heat scorched his cheeks as his eyes fell to her soft, kissable lips.  He swallowed hard.  Was she going to kiss him?  Oh please, let her kiss him --

Suddenly straightening, she cleared her throat and pulled one of the shopping bags toward her.  “And now I have to wrap these gifts.”

Lucifer’s heart dropped to his knees, and he tried not to show his disappointment as he straightened.  It was probably for the best anyway, but oh, how he had wanted to feel her lips against his....

Chloe shot a quick glance at him, a hopeful smile on her face.  “Would you...?”

The fallen angel jumped, turning to her with surprise.  His heart thumped madly in his chest.  “Yes?”

“Would you like to stay a little longer and help me wrap these gifts?”

She wanted him to stay!  Lucifer’s heart burst with happiness and warmth spread to every corner of his being. He knew he should have said no, but couldn’t bring himself to refuse her.  Besides, he didn’t want to.  This was Chloe, and he’d do anything for her -- even though nothing could ever come of it.  But he didn’t care -- at least, not tonight.  He could at least have tonight, couldn’t he?  Grinning from ear to ear, he nodded.  “It would be my pleasure.”

As the two of them worked well into the night wrapping Christmas gifts, the little star watched them from its perch on the tree and danced happily.

 

 


End file.
